Whether it is a weekday, Saturday, Sunday, holy day or holiday – you never have to be alone if you live at Holliday Park.
Take this past New Year’s Eve — 7 members met in one of their homes. The member who did the inviting, said: “I do not want to sit alone on New Year’s Eve, so decided to do something about it.” After eating some delicious homemade soup, and enjoying lots of interesting conversation, the group played a fun card game.
On a Saturday in December, 100 members celebrated the Christmas festivities at the Holliday Park Clubhouse, with a party and a delicious dinner. Members joined in a Christmas sing-a-long; and traded “White Elephant” gifts, which became rather hilarious, at times.
Last summer, 10 or 12 single members, and several married couples, went to the movie theater together to see a great movie, “Mama Mia.” The group topped off the evening by going to dinner together at the restaurant, Mama Mia. What an appropriate choice of restaurant!
One of our young teen-age boys occasionally goes to see his next-door neighbor who recently lost her husband. They sit quietly in the living room watching television and eating popcorn. The unspoken words speak volumes – “I care for you.”
Some parking lots organize a Lot Party every summer. Potluck contributions make for an inviting smorgasbord of food! Some of the members, who are busy working at their full-time jobs during the year, really look forward to this gathering.
No one knows how many friendships have been made the past 14 years, since Holliday Park started the Neighborhood watch Night Patrol program. With some trepidation, the Night Patrol Coordinator would match up two patrols, who until that time, had never met. As it turned out, many of the patrol partners became very good friends. They would go to the swimming pool together, or out to lunch, or join in some other outing.
Members who meet on one of the many Holliday Park Trips also create friendships. They have a lot of memories to talk about — the different countries or places they visited, the various cultures they experienced, and the parties the group shared.
This is only a sample of a few friendships or courtesies that occur at Holliday Park. So, you see, there is no reason to worry if you move into Holliday Park; you never have to be alone.
No matter how you feel about the Iraq war, no matter which party you voted for, we should never say anything bad about our young people serving in the military. When the Iraq war first started, one of Holliday Park’s residents had a relative called up for active duty and sent to Iraq. Upon receiving a few e-mails from the member’s relative and asking if there was anything that he or anyone else needed to make their life a little more comfortable. The serviceman mentioned that they did not normally have electricity, but when they did, the nights were boring, with nothing to do for recreation. The service member mentioned that it would be nice if they had some movies to watch. That’s all it took.
During a dinner honoring volunteers (an annual dinner ) the member asked the board if they could put a collection box in the club house. It took off from there. The idea was accepted, and the box was put in the club house. One board member and his wife personally donated over 600 movies. Another member went out and purchased 2 full boxes of old western movies to send over. In all–the total count was forgotten–, but it was in the neighborhood of between 3500 and 4000 movies collected and sent to Iraq.
I am sure that by now you are asking what this has to do with living at Holliday Park. Living in Holliday Park is not living in a neighborhood; it is living in a community. No questions were ever asked about who the movies were going to. It was just the fact that everyone felt a desire to give. People living here even tried to contribute money to help pay for anything else our military people might need. No one asked for or expected any credit or thanks for what they were giving. Someone living here asked for contributions and the community started kicking in.
When you drive through Holliday Park you will see license plates from all branches of the military and each war. You will also see flags flying from many units. When the movies were being collected and the contributions were flowing, it made me proud to be a resident of Holliday Park and proud to be part of this community. Thank You to all the Veterans living at Holliday Park and to everyone for their contributions.
Over 10 years ago, my wife and I started thinking about retirement. We both wanted to travel and see the United States. Our goal was to see all 50 states, and see the ones we really liked, a couple times. We both felt that the United States is one of the most beautiful countries in the world.
We really didn’t realize just how beautiful the country was until we got to visit places we had only read about or seen in movies. I have always been a fan of western movies. I enjoyed most of the old westerns, because it kind of reminded me of simpler times in the movie industry when you used your imagination, rather than seeing the “cut them up, slash them up” kind of movie.
However, we knew that when you own a home you are limited to what you can do and how long you can be gone. After all, the grass doesn’t cut itself, and the mail doesn’t jump out of the mail box and into your house. At least I always thought that was true. My wife had heard about Holliday Park from some people she worked with. We did a little investigation and put our name on the waiting list.
We soon realized that we were wrong. Here at Holliday Park, the grass does get cut when you aren’t here. We have a mail slot in the door so that our mail does magically jump into our living room. Last but not least, if we wish to give them one, our maintenance department has a key, so that in the very slim chance that something does go wrong, they are there to keep an eye on the place. We get all of those services, and many more, for about the same money that our taxes and insurance cost us when we lived in a house.
The biggest surprise was that we didn’t simply move into an inexpensive place to live, with all maintenance and heat included, but we moved into a community where everyone looked out for each other, and good neighbors lived in every unit.
To move into Holliday Park was not only a good financial decision, but a decision where we and everyone is a part of the community. People like and look out for each other. Is it perfect? No, not by any means. It is, however, a community of everyday folks who care about each other, and the other person cares about them. ‘nough said! It was one of the best decisions my wife and I could make for our retirement.
Please consider Holliday Park for your future home.
According to a recent Press Release from the City of Westland Mayor’s Office, Mayor William Wild has put in place a series of planning sessions. These sessions will involve creating a long-term sustainable plan, to keep and maintain Westland’s excellent quality of life, and financial balance, as the city faces declining revenue and property taxes.
The economic downturn which the United States and countries around the globe are facing, is having, and will continue to have, an effect on how revenues are spent. The Mayor is taking a pro-active approach to this situation by organizing and scheduling at least four planning sessions. The goal of these sessions is to have a forward thinking strategic plan in place now, to protect the “vital city services,” and continuously maintain and improve the city’s infrastructure, technological upgrades, and environmental concerns, for 2010 and beyond.
The city wants to continue to have a balanced budget by seeking even more cost effective reductions in spending, and the implementation of greater efficiency in every department. The city administration has hired an engineering firm, OHM, to assist with this process. They will study and give an analysis of these areas:
1.study of the current Michigan/Wayne County financial status
2.brain storming about Westland’s future, and where we want to be in 5-10 years
3.costs to sustain roads, water and sewer systems, and other infrastructure
4.how to maintain and upgrade current technology, safety, financial status, and the environment
Charles Fleetham, a management consultant with 20 years of experience in helping public sector clients develop strategies to resolve issues, grow business, and plan for good stewardship of finances to meet future needs, will be the facilitator of these sessions.
The City Council will take part in these vital strategy meetings, along with members of the business community, department heads, and city residents. Every idea, concern, and all information gathered at these day-long meetings will help to create models for future growth and progress, for this AA bonded, “All American City.”
Westland has been able to sustain its current balanced budget and fiscal well-being by planning ahead, and being very frugal and conservative with every taxpayer dollar. What they hope to achieve with these planning and strategic meetings is to take a hard look at where the city and Wayne County are right now, financially and structurally, and where we will need and strive to be in the next five years.
Citizens can help, and we are all encouraged to bring our ideas, hopes, and desires for the future of this great place, to these study sessions. For more information, visit the City of Westland’s website.
Each year, during the first week in May, members of Holliday Park hold an election to choose candidates who will fill the seven seats which constitute the Board of Directors of the Holliday Park Towne Houses Cooperative. Board Members are voted in by the membership and serve for either a 1 or 2-year period before coming up for re-election. The choices that are made with each vote are vital to the well being of this co-op, because those who are selected make the difficult and necessary decisions upon which the foundation of fiscal solvency and structural integrity of this corporation are based.
The following is a list compiled by your current Board of Directors. It consists of suggested criteria for choosing and voting for Candidates in the Cooperative Board Election.
a. be teachable (cannot already claim to “know everything”).
b. able to do active listening (that is, can repeat accurately what is heard).
c. understands how to work on a team.
d. willing to sacrifice special/personal interests for the good of the cooperative. (involves unselfish, overall view of what is best for the whole).
e. respectful of fellow Board Members/opinions, with full recognition that disagreement may exist. (has ordinary good, polite manners).
f. regards money as belonging to the whole cooperative; thus, considers its use with prudence, care, accountability and frugality.
g. positively promotes the cooperative and its policies in order to maintain the marketability and smooth functioning of the cooperative.
h. willing to learn policies and procedures.
i. respectful of policies and willing to make enlightened changes, only after studying reasons for established policies.
j. realizes one has no power to act alone in regard to policy or financial decisions; thus, willing to confer and to comply with the vote of the majority of the Board.
k. realizes one cannot make what might be called “personal campaign promises.” Changes, policy revisions, purchases, projects are all subject to a 7-member vote.
l. willing to do a share of the work required by virtue of belonging to the Board.
m. willing to speak out on issues common to the whole Board or the whole cooperative.
n. does not get lost in nonessential, time-consuming distractions that appeal to a minority number of members.
o. has an understanding of the structure and rationale for a cooperative, as opposed to other multiple-housing complexes and private homes.
p. studies past legal opinions to gain insight into established policies and procedures.
q. willing to attend Board meetings.
The above may not be a comprehensive list. It is, however, relevant to our present and more recent Boards. In past years, this community has been very blessed to have had exemplary people elected to these positions. They are the heart-beat of our community, and we are grateful for their years of selfless giving.
Come join us in becoming a member of Holliday Park, and you can participate in the election of your Board of Directors.
Some years ago, my parents decided to move into a cooperative in Westland, Michigan. They loved the look of it, nestled in the heart of a wonderful town, which was close to many other thriving communities, as well. The income requirements for a 3 bedroom, two-story unit, were just phenomenal, in that they were so reasonable.
After moving in, they put their personal stamp on this bright and sunny, cozy home, by adding custom fitted shutters to the windows and door wall, and lovely soft carpeting to the spacious living and dining room. Mom put her collection of antique silver serving pieces and china in a wonderful hutch on one long dining room wall. In no time at all, this entire unit, called the Fenwick, was home for us.
My brother and I were in college, and our previous home was just too big for my parents, with us gone for 9 months of the year. They loved to travel, and took great vacations to far away places without worrying about their possessions. It was so affordable to live at Holliday Park, that they were able to build up their savings, and still enjoy visiting other places near and far.
As the years passed, I married in a little church very near their home. My husband and I would visit often; and when we had saved some ,we too became members of Holliday Park. We had only lived in the co-op for five months when we learned that our first child was to be born that next summer. Mom and dad were right there for the event; and had already turned the middle bedroom of their Fenwick into a nursery for when their first grandchild visited them.
Other grandchildren followed, and a special closet was set up in their home as a little puppet theater. As the children grew, Grandma and Grandpa would bring a variety of age-appropriate surprises — everything from books, to games, trucks, dolls, logos, silly putty, a magic eight ball with answers for every question, and whatever you can imagine. Their favorite things were a collection of Shel Silverstein books, which their grandpa would read with a slight accent, which he made up, and it was different with every book. They also loved the fake money and the antique child’s cash register; the fairy dust, and magic wings; superman suit and cowboy hat; and cape and pirates eye patch, all which were kept safe and available to them, and enjoyed by them for years.
As the children grew up, the middle bedroom became their game room and computer room. Another large bedroom in the Fenwick became the sleepover spot. We moved to a house in a near-by suburb as our family grew, but we never failed to appear at the Fenwick, at least twice a week. The traditions that were born of those visits remain today.
My kids have kids, and recently they came to visit from 3,000 miles away. At the Fenwick, waiting quietly in that closet, were more games, surprises, and a little magic, as always. Possibly, for me, the most poignant moment was not when my grandchildren rushed up the stairs to see what wonders awaited them, but when my grown children did that very thing first, and with the same anticipation for their kids, that I had for them.
If Grandpa and Grandma were not so extraordinary in their anticipation of the joy and wonder the children would feel at the sight of these simple surprises, and their all-encompassing love and concern for their little ones, and interaction with them which they always found time and energy to display, perhaps this would be just a simple tradition, not worth mentioning. However, those amazing people, my parents, made that Fenwick — a home away from home — a safe-harbor, a place where laughter, love, a sense of belonging to the community, and unbounded enthusiasm, was always present.
And so it was, that they all lived happily ever after.
I was once an average traveler. I had done the obligatory trips up northern Michigan that everyone who lives in Michigan does. In fact, going up north and going on vacation are synonymous here.
I had also gone to a couple of other states, mostly to visit relatives, but I had never thought of traveling far. The travel section of the newspaper was never even looked at. Far away places were just that… far away places. Places that were not part of my world.
Then I moved to Holliday Park and took notice of the trips being offered to members. Sure there were some “day” and weekend trips, but it was the cruise to the Caribbean that caught my eye. Fourteen days in the southern Caribbean, in February, at that price? Must be some catch, was my first thought. When I found out that it was for real, I almost couldn’t think about anything else. Going to what seemed like a fantasy place was now a possibility. I signed up to go.
There were over 50 people in the Holliday Park group, and what fun it was. It was like having a big extended family joining me on what was my dream come true. Sure I had a partner with me on the trip, but to have other familiar faces around and to share dinner with was so nice.
We spent the first two days at sea just relaxing, and then we started to visit an island a day…lush, volcanic islands with white sandy beaches and shopping. Then back to the ship for wonderful meals, theater, casino, or just relaxing. It truly felt like I was in a dream.
Cruises are wonderful anyway because you unpack only once. You never have to worry about where you’re going to sleep each night, and the food is fabulous. You feel so pampered and stress-free.
After that trip, I was anxious to see what other adventures were going to be offered, and I was never disappointed at what came up and for what price. Whenever I was able, I went. Of course, the members who have lived here longer, have been to many more places, but I am still amazed that I can now say that I have been to China. I saw the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and the Terra-Cotta Warriors.
I also have been on a cruise of the Baltic Sea which took me to Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, and Copenhagen. Here I was, in a part of the world I had never thought I would have seen except in books. To experience the people, the culture, and the food in other parts of the world, never leaves you.
Holliday Park was the place I wanted to live. I didn’t realize that it was going to open my world and broaden my horizons. Although I had partners on my trips, having part of your community along is a fabulous bonus. If your partner doesn’t want to go on the same shore tour as you do, there is always a group of neighbors you can join to take the one you want.
Right now, I am waiting to hear where the next big trip is going. One of my neighbors has already said that she and I might be partners if it’s somewhere we both want to go.
I can’t really say that I am a world traveler, but I can now say that I am not an average traveler any more
